UKIP’S new leader Henry Bolton blasted Theresa May over her calls for a Brexit transition period saying the UK was leaving the European Union “in name only”.

Mr Bolton, who previously worked as a chief planner for the EU’s European Security and Defence missions around the world, said his experience of the bloc had made him “uncomfortable”.

Speaking on the Today programme, on BBC Radio 4, Mr Bolton added it was an “assumption” that Britain was quitting the Brussels bloc.

He said: “Working for the European Union at a reasonably senior level, I came to understand its internal workings very well and was not very comfortable with them at all.

“I think that’s a little bit of an assumption that we’re on our way out. We thought we were on our way out and we’d be fully out in March 2019.

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Henry Bolton said the UK was leaving the European Union "in name only"

I think that’s a little bit of an assumption that we’re on our way out

Henry Bolton

“But we’re clearly not going to be. The Prime Minister has made that quite clear that we’re leaving in name only.

“We’ve got a transition period which may be around two years but it hasn’t got an end date to it.

“We’ve got no progress on negotiations of any meaningful sort and it’s not just about leaving the European Union, it is about leaving the European Union in such a way as we launch our country on to a path of prosperity, security and optimism and that’s an ongoing task.”

Theresa May faced renewed calls to be ready to walk out of the Brexit negotiations last night after a top Eurocrat attempted to sabotage a deal between Britain and Brussels.

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The Prime Minister was urged by Euro-sceptic campaigners including senior Tory MPs to make preparations to quit the talks with EU chiefs if the issue of future trade is not on the table by the end of this year.

Their demand came after European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker claimed the Brexit discussions were progressing so slowly that "miracles" were needed for the next deadline to be hit.

His intervention, a day after reports of "decisive steps forwards" in the negotiations, was viewed at Westminster last night as an attempt to de-stabilise the drive towards a deal.

The letter said: ”If the EU is not seriously negotiating a free trade deal by Christmas 2017, the Government should give formal notice that we will move to World Trade Organisation rules in March 2019.”

The letter was organised by Leave Means Leave, a pressure group campaigning for a full break with Brussels backed by around 50 Tory MPs.